Assyrians in Greece

Assyrians in Greece (Greek: Ασσύριοι στην Ελλάδα) include migrants of Assyrian descent living in Greece. The number of Assyrians in Greece is estimated at around 6,000 people.[1]

Assyrians in Greece
Total population
6,000[1]
Regions with significant populations
Languages
Neo-Aramaic and Greek
Religion
Christianity

History and distribution

The modern history of the Assyrians in Greece dates back to the 1920s when a number of Assyrians who were settled in Greece formed the Assyrian Federation of Greece to represent their community. This organisation was officially recognised by the Greek state in 1934.[1]

More Assyrian refugees later arrived from Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria due to instability in those countries and using Greece as an immigration bridge to western and northern European countries, like Germany and Sweden, where it is possible to get easier access to asylum and social benefits. Currently there are more than 6,000 Assyrians in Greece, around 1,000 of them are naturalised while most of the rest live in limbo with no permit. The ethnic Assyrians are mostly concentrated in suburbs of Athens, mainly in the Egaleo and Kalamaki.[1]

See also

Notes
  1. Tzilivakis, Kathy (10 May 2003). "Iraq's Forgotten Christians Face Exclusion in Greece". Athens News. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
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